


Stood Up

by mmojo



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24773854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmojo/pseuds/mmojo
Summary: Akko and Diana are gay disasters. Based off of the article “Cupid’s Arrow Doesn’t Always Fly Straight” on Not Always Right
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 3
Kudos: 78





	Stood Up

**Author's Note:**

> This short story is the results of my first attempt at creative writing aside from school assignments. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and please leave any feedback you may have in the comments! I wrote this overnight so it may get a bit confusing or wordy as you go along, my brain has been pretty fried after finals, but I did my best to straighten things out in the end. This is a lot different from what I am used to writing, but I had so much fun writing on my own free will so I hope you have fun reading it too. Enjoy!

It was a beautiful day in Blytonbury, and Diana awoke to the warmth of the sun shining through her windows and the welcoming silence of her empty apartment. She stretched and felt the fog of morning grogginess wash away as she began to run through the various things she would have to do throughout her busy day.

Getting out of bed and walking to her kitchen to begin preparing breakfast, Diana opened her phone and was met with a bombardment of emails, messages, and notifications. Leaving her childhood home to live in Blytonbury was a small step towards her goal of taking over her family’s company and becoming head of the Cavendishes, so it just made sense to go out on her own and open up her own small medical clinic before trying to manage one of the company’s larger establishments. However she was not completely alone in her endeavors, as her closest friends Hannah and Barbara insisted on coming with her to Blytonbury. Though it took more effort than expected to convince the pair that Diana is more than capable of living on her own and that they would be happier rooming with each other rather than the three of them together in one apartment. 

Brushing off the thought of living with her endearing, but rather loud best friends, Diana put on a kettle of hot water, a bagel in the toaster oven, and began going through her messages of the morning. One message stood out to her as the kettle whistled and she poured water into her mug and dropped one of her favorite teas into the steaming liquid. The message was from Hannah stating that her and Barbara would be out of town for the day, so if she needed them they would be only one call away. Diana sighed, another busy day and a certain lack of friends to lean upon at the end of the night. She supposed she could always call them like the message stated, but she didn’t want to interrupt whatever plans they had. 

Sipping her tea, Diana continued to read through various work-related emails and “urgent” messages when she smelled smoke and the scent of something burning. She quickly turned to her toaster-oven, unknowingly knocking her mug over and spilling her tea, and turned it off whilst opening it up and pulling out a blackened bagel, black smoke filling her small kitchen. Diana let out another tired sigh as she opened up a window and began cleaning up the kitchen when she noticed that she had spilled tea on her phone, which was now dark and unresponsive. “Wonderful,” she exhaled as she continued to clean up, now she had to add visiting the electronics store to her list of things she had to do that day. 

****

Akko skipped down the street, her friends Sucy and Lotte trailing closely behind her. The trio had taken the day off from their respective jobs for some “R&R” as Akko called it. Akko had insisted on getting up early and waking them all up to get a “jump start” on shopping, breakfast, and generally just painting the town red. 

They had started on the west side of town, hitting shops near their small shared apartment, and moving east-ward. In lieu of the fact that they had eaten before they left the apartment, the trio had stopped in numerous cafes, coffee shops, bakeries, and any other small eateries in favor of Akko’s insatiable appetite and surprisingly convincing positive attitude. 

As they sat at a table outside a small bakery, Sucy commented “if she was this enthusiastic about her school work as she was that tart, Akko would graduate in record time,” watching as the Japanese girl in front of her wolfed down the raspberry tart in her hands, completely oblivious to the jab towards her work ethic. Lotte shot her girlfriend a pointed look, “give her a break, she’s been working really hard lately between school and working part-time with the kids,” she claimed as she defended their friend. The lavender haired girl rolled her eyes and replied with a small groan, as if to say “whatever she’s still a dunce” with everything she could except her words. 

However what Lotte said was true, Akko had been working harder than usual as of late. After landing a part-time job as a music teacher at Blytonbury’s local elementary school, it was as if a fire had been lit at her feet and she started running towards her goal faster than before. “I guess working with the kids reminded her of her goal,” Lotte said, taking a bite from her own tart. Akko finally finished inhaling her tart and looked up at her two friends. “Whutr rou gruys tralking abot?” she asked, noticing the pair staring at her intently. The two girls just smiled and shook their heads, Lotte waving her off and saying “Nothing important, no need to worry about it.” 

Akko took the gesture as a cue to finish up her food and get the group moving again. She mentally reminded herself to let the owner of the shop, one of the trio’s friends Jasminka, know that the tarts were amazing and that she should increase the price. Akko and her friends sat at the table a little longer as Sucy and Lotte finished their own tarts and chatted some before getting up and continued their adventure through the streets of Blytonbury. 

As the trio peeled the streets, window shopping and occasionally going into the stores, they found themselves in a cosmetics store much to Sucy and Akko’s dismay. Lotte was the only one of the group who regularly wore makeup, as Akko only really wore mascara and the occasional concealer, and Sucy never wore it unless the situation called for it. Makeup stores were always filled with bright lights and shiny displays, so Akko and Sucy were out of their element as Lotte led them up and down the many aisles of the store. 

Akko was deep in thought, as she inspected one particular shiny bottle of some kind of liquid mascara, when she backed away from the display and tripped over her feet. She could feel her feet slipping away underneath from her as she fell into someone behind her. A man, someone who worked there she supposed, was caught by surprise as Akko fell into him. They both came down with a crash, knocking over some of the various makeup supplies on the shelf and turning a couple heads in the store. Akko felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment as she hastily picked herself up off the ground as the retail worker did the same. “Are you alright?” she asked, shifting her gaze from the floor to the man’s face. Her cheeks went from warm to absolutely burning. Of course the guy she fell into is hot. She stared as the man dusted himself off, apologized for being in the way, and asked if she was alright herself. Akko was unable to respond in the face of the pretty boy. She opened her mouth to speak but words did not come out. Luckily she was saved by a certain lavender haired girl coming up behind her after noticing her situation. “She’s fine. Here’s her number. Call her sometime.” Sucy stated as she shoved a piece of paper in the man’s hands before quickly dragging Akko away from the display. The man was left at the scene in surprise before quickly coming to his senses and beginning to clean up the mess. Sure he got hit on a lot, but that was something else altogether. He would definitely be sure to bring this up with his girlfriend later, because they had been running their little faux dating service for a while now, but the girl he had just met would definitely be an interesting one to include in their “services.”

****  
After that morning’s bagel and tea fiasco, Diana had decided that it would be best to get breakfast to go before heading to work. Because of her early graduation and past socio-economic status, Diana was familiar with cooking for herself, but had yet to perfect it meaning little things such as burning her bagel no longer fazed her. Soaking her phone in tea however had an effect on her mood. After sticking her phone in a bag of rice and shoving it in her bag, the English heiress set out to find her favorite shop to visit when she had incidents such as the one earlier that morning. 

She strode down the street when she approached the small shop. Pushing open the door, Diana walked up to the counter and greeted Jasminka. “Another accident?” the larger woman asked as she began preparing Diana’s usual order. “You always know,” Diana replied with a small sigh and a warm smile. She had been frequenting the shop after discovering it when she first arrived in Blytonbury, usually when she had a cooking mischance, but sometimes just for a snack and a warm cup of tea. She admired the shop’s welcoming atmosphere and accredited Jasminka for her hospitality. Hannah and Barbara occasionally joined her for tea in the small establishment, however Diana was most definitely a regular patron of the bakery and had grown to be friendly with Jasminka and many of the people who worked there. With a “thank you” and a wave, Diana paid her bill, left the bakery, and began walking to her clinic in a slightly better mood as she enjoyed a warm cup of tea and an uncharred bagel. 

The solace did not last long, as she walked into her clinic and was reminded of her very busy day upon seeing the waiting room full of patients. Diana finished up her breakfast and put herself into a working mentality, throwing her lab coat over her scrubs and opening up her laptop to see who she would be seeing first. She quickly began seeing her regular scheduled patients, as well as a couple unscheduled patrons in need of care, going into auto-pilot as she worked through the thick of the morning. 

As lunch time approached, Diana saw the last of the morning’s rush out the front door. “Busy day today, huh?” a voice chimed in behind her. She turned to her assistant and secretary, Blair, who was filling in for Amanda for the day. Blair was much more mild-mannered than her other spit fire of an assistant. However the oftentimes rebellious Amanda was a long-time friend of hers and worked well in spite of her attitude. Because Amanda was still in school, she only worked part-time, but had taken the day off for “personal reasons” as she stated in her request. Diana was relieved for the lack of sarcastic and mildly flirty comments though, as she was already in a somewhat sour mood. “Yes, today was quite busy. Feel free to take a lunch break for now. I suspect that the rest of the day will be slower,” Diana replied as she went back to her office and started filing the reports for that day on her laptop. Because of her breakfast mishap that day she had forgotten to pack lunch, and decided that it would be best to just keep working through her break instead. 

“You know you should take a break too doctor,” said Blair as she leaned against the doorframe of Diana’s office with her lunch in her hands. 

Diana looked up from her work. “I will be fine,” she replied with a tinge of exhaustion in her voice. 

The tiredness in her voice did not go unnoticed by Blair, who promptly moved from her spot in the doorway to behind Diana, shutting her laptop and forcing her out of her chair and out the doors of the clinic. “Go,the next appointment is not for the next two hours, go for lunch and a stroll or something and then come back. I can handle anyone else who comes in,” Blair declared somewhat harshly. Diana opened her mouth to fight the statement, but closed it again in defeat as she realized that what Blair said was true. “I suppose I could go for a small lunch break,” she said in defeat as she grabbed her bag from her office and began walking down the street. 

Diana put in her headphones and tried to enjoy the time she had away from the stresses of work as she looked for a place to eat lunch. She settled for stopping in a sandwich shop a couple blocks away from the clinic and placed her order. She was still listening to her music when her order was ready, and her number was called. However Diana was too engrossed in her music to notice, so the number was called a couple more times before she eventually noticed the change in energy in the shop. She hastily grabbed her food in embarrassment, apologized to the shop worker, and left the shop before she could get a good look at the faces of the other people in the store. She mentally face-palmed herself as she walked down the street, nibbling her sandwich as she made her way back to the clinic. 

In her embarrassment she failed to notice the truck coming up the street she was crossing, and as the truck came closer and closer it let out a startling honk. Diana turned to see the truck speeding towards her in shock. She froze. The lights of the truck blinded her as she closed her eyes and was overwhelmed with the sound of the truck’s horn. Her heart rate increased as she braced herself for impact. She dropped her sandwich as she raised her arms to her head. “Today was the day,” she thought to herself. A tear fell from her eyes as she accepted her fate. Diana was frozen in her unforeseen situation when she felt a force push her down and out of the way. The wind of the truck blowing past her and the weight of a body on top of hers had yet to register in Diana’s mind as she laid on the ground breathing heavily and crying softly to herself. 

A voice called out to her “whoa are you okay?” She slowly lowered her arms and opened her eyes. She was met with a silhouette in the light of the sun with a hand stretched out to her. 

Diana opened and closed her mouth in astonishment as she began processing what had just happened. “Who is this person?” and “What happened?” were the first two questions that crossed her mind. She took a deep breath and lifted herself off the ground. 

The sound of footsteps grew as she looked to see two girls, one of shorter stature and orange hair and the other with lavender hair and slumped shoulders, ran towards her. She turned to see another girl, with silky and slightly disheveled mahogany hair and soft crimson eyes as she tried to compose herself. “Are you okay?” she heard the shorter orange haired girl shout. “Yeah I’m good. Are you okay?” the girl next to her said as she searched Diana for any signs of harm. Diana was only able to blurt “yes,” as a response as she was still vaguely in shock. The two girls reached their friend, and in a mixture of worry and pride they started scolding her for “doing something completely reckless,” as the orange haired girl said and “running off like an idiot,” as the strangely calm girl put it. 

Diana watched in disbelief but was able to gather her senses as she walked to the group. “Thank you very much for saving me. If you would please join me, I am Dr. Diana Cavendish, and I would like to treat you for any wounds you have,” she stated. The statement was met with silence until the brown haired girl quickly realized what had been said and replied “Oh I’m fine. Are you okay?” The heiress nodded saying that she “was distracted” and that she “should have been closer attention to her surroundings,” and that she “was deeply sorry for the trouble she caused” and “would like to bring them back to the clinic for a check-up.” The girl hastily declined as she turned her eyes away from Diana and rubbed the back of her neck, her face flushing pink unbeknownst to the heiress. After insisting that they come with and being met with opposition, Diana turned to make her way back to the clinic. “What is going on with me today?” she muttered to herself. While she was definitely tired from working, her carelessness was unusual. However little did she know the group of girls she left were still standing in the middle of the road staring as she walked away. 

****

Akko stared with wide eyes as the girl she just jumped in front of a speeding truck to save strode away. She had been walking down the street when she heard a honk in front of her at the end of the block. She spotted a woman crossing the street, seemingly oblivious to the honk and preoccupied by something in her own world. Akko broke into a sprint, leaving her friends behind as she ran to the end of the block. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her feet just barely skimmed the ground below her. “What was this woman doing?” she thought as she ran. Surely anyone would notice a huge honking truck speeding towards them. The truck honked again and Akko was still running as she watched the woman turn to the truck and froze in her place, shielding her face. She could have sworn she saw a tear fall from the woman’s eyes, but ignored it as she propelled herself forward, speeding up as she quickly caught up to the woman, and tackling her to the ground at the other end of the street. Akko did her best to shield the woman’s body with her own, but ended up putting a lot more weight than she intended on the body underneath her. 

The truck roared and tore past her as she breathed heavily and tried to catch her breath. She had successfully saved the woman from getting hit by the truck with little damage to herself, but the condition of the woman beneath her was all she could think about as they laid upon the asphalt. After the truck passed, Akko rose to her feet and offered her hand to the woman still laying on the street. Her heart stung like she was suddenly shot with an arrow through her chest as she saw that the woman was indeed crying a little bit. 

“Whoa are you okay?” she asked. The woman lowered her arms and looked at her in a mixture of shock, fear, and confusion, as Akko could see a storm behind her eyes. The woman had clearly not anticipated the truck and her near-death experience. Akko watched with her hand still out stretched as the woman opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing and closed her mouth once again. However her offer was declined as the woman got up on her own and looked over Akko’s shoulder. 

Akko was very worried yet entranced with the woman in front of her. Although she was clearly shocked and a bit disarranged from her recent close encounter with death, the woman before her was stunning as a summer’s day. Akko stared into the woman’s beautiful cerulean eyes in search of any signs of injury as she attempted to take in her view. She was dumbfounded at the woman’s smooth cool skin, her supple features still showing signs of slight surprise and her tea-green and blonde hair a bit disheveled, but Akko could tell that the woman before her was the most awe-inspiring person she had ever witnessed in her life. Akko was snapped out of her trance as she heard Lotte behind her shouting “are you okay?” and the sound of the pair of friends running towards her. She turned to them and replied “yeah I’m good” before returning to the muse beside her and asking if she was okay as well. The woman was only able to reply “yes,” in response, to which Akko blamed on the truck. 

She still could not believe the beauty of the woman before her, let alone the fact that she was almost with a truck. When Lotte and Sucy finally caught up to her, she could hardly get word in before she was ambushed with a lecture about not running off and not jumping in front of trucks and how what she did was very reckless and how she had worried them by running off like an idiot. 

Akko was too busy trying to deal with the sudden scolding to notice the woman coming up behind them, a bit more composed to all appearances. She was also too busy to notice the woman talking to her, introducing herself, and offering to help her, only this time distracted by the woman’s radiance rather than her friends. 

A long moment passed as Akko studied the woman’s face before she noticed the silence blanketing the group. “Oh I’m fine. Are you okay?” was all she could muster to say as she was caught off guard by how straightforward and upfront the woman was. Akko could tell she was clearly very mature, despite looking only a year or so older than Akko herself. She was quickly distracted once again as the woman, now introduced to her as Diana Cavendish, began insisting on bringing her back with her. Akko lost herself in the way Diana’s mouth formed words, and how soft and smooth her lips were, and how she definitely knew how to take care of herself, and how—she quickly cut her thought off as she realized Diana was still trying to get her to join her at the clinic. Akko couldn’t possibly go with her. She was already panicking in the presence of a beautiful girl, let alone having said beautiful girl in close quarters with her to give her a check-up. Akko quickly declined much to the surprise of her friends, who glanced at each other unbeknownst to both Diana and Akko, rubbing the back of her neck and quickly turned her face away from Diana to hide the blush creeping onto her face. Diana didn’t seem to want to take ‘no’ for an answer and continued to insist on the check-up, but Akko didn’t back down either. 

The conversation ended as Diana succumbed to defeat, said her goodbyes, and left. The group was left in silence as she strode away. She was half-way down the block when the silence was broken. “Akko, your face is still red,” Sucy sneered, snickering and smirking as she was elbowed in the ribs by her girlfriend. Akko’s face was indeed still red. Not only was she red, but also still standing in the middle of the street with her hand on her neck and her jaw dropped to the asphalt. 

The group as a whole was staring at Diana as she walked away, but Akko’s eyes followed her to the end of the block in complete and utter gay amazement. “She seemed really nice. She’s the heiress to the Cavendish company isn’t she?” Lotte pondered. However her question received no answer as Akko was still in shock and Sucy just stared. The group only moved from the street when they were interrupted by a car trying to pass through the road they were still standing in the middle of. After moving to the other side of the road and recovering from the sheer bombshell of a situation she was just involved in, Akko returned to her usual self and the group went about the rest of their day. However, the energy was no longer as happy go-lucky as it was before. An air of curiosity fell over the group, all wondering about what could have happened, and who they had just met. 

**** 

Upon Diana’s return to the clinic, she could tell that something was different. She quickly found out the cause of this change when Blair swiftly made it clear that she had an interesting lunch break by pointing out how disarranged Diana looked. After exchanging words and an exciting story was made blunt, Diana ensured Blair that she was indeed okay. While she didn’t seem to believe the statement, Blair decided to drop the subject because Diana was obviously having a rough day. 

The rest of the work day was relatively slow in comparison to their exciting morning. The afternoon and early evening’s patients came and went, Diana putting herself back into auto-pilot once again. Blair was still worried about Diana though, because she was working as she always does, but she was clearly different from this morning. 

The sun was starting to set when Blair decided to take things into her own hands again. Diana was in her office filling out reports and filing paperwork, when Blair pushed her out of the clinic once again, this time skipping any attempts to talk into leaving and just pushing her out. Diana could only catch phrases such as “go home and rest,” and “I can handle the rest of the patients today,” and “make sure you go to sleep early,” before she was promptly kicked out of her own clinic. She knew that Blair meant well, but did not appreciate the method of which she was forced to leave. She checked her watch and decided that it would be best to just go to bed. The thought of attempting to cook again struck a chord with Diana, so she settled for take out instead. She was sitting on her couch, in the middle of thinking of ordering Chinese take out when her computer pinged. “Diana Cavendish speaking,” she said as she answered the video call. Not having her phone was starting to become a pain. It was a good thing she had it linked to her computer. “Hey Diana! We just got back, would you want to meet up?” the voice she recognized as Hannah said back to her. Diana was tired, but she could never be too tired for her friends. After arranging for the girls to come over and ordering extra Chinese food, Diana hung up the call and slumped further into the couch. The apartment could use some tidying up before her friends got there, so she peeled herself up off the couch and got to work. Half-way into washing the dishes there was a knock on the door. 

Diana finished drying the plate in her hands and went to open the door. Upon opening it, she was met with hugs and excited greetings from her friends. They exchanged small pleasantries and ate Chinese food together while enjoying each other’s company. Diana asked the pair about their mini-vacation, and the girls asked Diana about her day as well. After hearing about her brush with death, Hannah and Barbara gasped in what seemed to be perfect unison, and then interrogated her and doted on her for the rest of the night in worry. Hannah and Barbara always worried about Diana, because of the stress of being an heiress and running her own clinic and living on her own, but hearing the day's events sent the pair into an overprotective mentality. 

Her encounter with a certain brown haired girl and her friends was particularly concerning. “How could she forget to catch their names?” they thought to themselves. The pair had given up on trying to get Diana interested in romance a long time ago, but the way she had told them about this girl made them think that maybe she did have an interest in romance after all. While it was subtle, the way Diana crossed her legs and pushed herself deeper into the couch did not go unnoticed by her best friends. Her voice was also still strong and confident, but the girls could there was something else lingering in her tone. The fact that it was a girl was surprising, but not as much as surprising as the fact that she could actually have a crush on someone in the first place. The pair brushed it off as a one-time thing, and declared the instance as an anomaly because “there was no way she actually likes someone.” 

Hannah and Barbara ended up staying the night, sleeping on Diana’s couch together. This was a normal occurrence, because in spite of the fact that they had their own apartment, the girls still liked to stay with Diana overnight like they did when they were all in school together. They stayed there so often that Diana kept toothbrushes, extra pajamas, and extra bed sheets for them. That night was no different. After finishing their food the group cleaned up a little bit and settled in for a movie. It was decided that it would be Diana’s pick that night, since she had a rough day, so they ended up watching La La Land as a compromise between Diana’s love for musicals and Hannah and Barbara’s love for Emma Stone. While watching the movie, the subject of vacations came up in conversation. It was then that Diana was convinced to take a day off the next day, since “Amanda would be back and could take care of the clinic” and “Diana definitely needed a break” as stated by Hannah and Barbara respectively. Diana texted Amanda and Blair after the movie was over and both agreed to the plan, so Diana had no choice but to take the day off. Upon the confirmation, Hannah and Barbara both called in sick from their own jobs. Playing hookie was not something that happened often with the trio, but they knew when it was time to take a break.

****

As the sun rose once again and flooded Diana’s apartment, Hannah and Barbara stirred in their sleep. The trio had been up a while after the end of the movie, gossiping and just enjoying each other’s company. The pair awoke to the sound of the door as Diana left her room and moved to the kitchen to start breakfast, without the black smoke hopefully. Good mornings and pleasantries were exchanged and Barbara eventually kicked Diana out of the kitchen so she could cook breakfast herself. While breakfast was being made, Hannah and Barbara discussed what they would be doing that day, because if Diana had a day off they were obviously going to spend it together. A compromise was made and it was decided that they would be going shopping that day. After eating and cleaning up, the three girls got ready to leave. Memories of their school days resurfaced as they all tried to get ready in Diana’s bathroom at the same time. Diana smiled as she reminisced on those moments, because even if they were fighting, they had such a good time together and she was glad she had them as friends. 

The first item on the list was a trip to the electronics store to get Diana a new phone. The rice she put her phone in had not worked. After that, they decided that normal shopping and the usual stores would suffice. It had been a while since they all had gone shopping together since they were all working and had their own lives, but they always kept in touch and hung out often. 

When they were all ready, the girls left the apartment and began walking down the street. The weather was warm, but not warm enough for shorts and skirts so they had opted for light jackets and jeans to keep it casual, but “casual” was not in Diana’s vocabulary. In lieu of the fact that she was wearing jeans and a casual blouse, it was still blatantly obvious that Diana was a member of high society. She turned heads as the group strode down the street, some even stopping to get a better look. 

When they arrived at the electronics store, an employee immediately greeted them, welcoming them in and asking what they were there for. “I am in the market for a new cell phone. My last one is out of commission due to a... fluid complication,” Diana declared. The employee nodded and brought them over to a display after taking Diana’s phone out of the bag of rice it was still in. 

While Diana was busy with the phone display, Hannah and Barbara were checking out the accessories available for purchase on the other side of the store. “Don’t you think she was acting weird last night?” Barbara whispered to Hannah. “Yeah, it was definitely because of that girl who saved her,” Hannah replied with a small nod and a look over her shoulder to make sure Diana wasn’t looking at them. With a small glance and a few sniggers the girls decided to test a theory they had. 

Diana was with the retail worker when she noticed Hannah and Barbara looking at her and giggling with themselves. The girls always had a way of entertaining themselves so Diana took it as a sign that they were simply enjoying the day off. Little did she know that her best friends were actually scheming, something she would find out the hard way. Diana and the retail worker went back and forth in their discussion on which phone would be best for Diana. They eventually settled for the newest model of iPhone, and had moved from discussing model types to discussing pricing and data transfer. 

While the retail worker was transferring Diana’s data to her new phone, the doors of the store burst open. A man and a woman strut into the store and up to the counter Diana and the worker were standing at. “You missed your chance to get with someone as good as me. But then again, you were never good enough for me anyways unlike my NEW girlfriend here. She is much prettier than you are,” the man declared without any explanation as to who he was or what his business was in the store. The patrons of the store were left in shock as the man and his girlfriend stood proudly before the retail worker who simply smiled back at them. Diana was the first to recover from the initial surprise, and was also the closest to the disturbance as the man and his girlfriend loomed over her and the retail worker. “Excuse me sir, but you should not talk to a store employee in such a manner. I do not know what business you may have with her, but I think you should go. You have made your point so it is time for you to make your leave,” Diana stated to the man. The couple simply scoffed in response and turned to leave the store. “Are you okay? That was very strange,” Diana remarked as Hannah and Barbara came to join her on either side of her. The retail worker nodded in response and divulged that she does get hit on often, but does not often meet with the people who confront her. 

The retail worker finished up the data transfer and monetary transactions as awkward silence fell over the store. “Well here is my phone number. Please call if you find yourself in a compromising situation because of this. Thank you again for the help with the cell phone,” Diana disclosed before handing her business card to the retail worker and turning to leave the store. However Hannah and Barbara did not follow. They were frozen with their hands over their mouths at the series of events that had just occurred. While they were planning on giving the retail worker Diana’s phone number, they had not expected her to do it herself. They quickly recovered and returned to either side of Diana, leaving the retail worker with a warm smile and a wave. “She would be an interesting one to pair up,” the worker thought to herself after pocketing the card and making a mental note to let her boyfriend know about what had happened. 

****

The wind blew in her face as Akko raced to the class. Her alarm had failed to wake her up, and had awoke to Lotte shaking her and yelling about how late it was. Although Akko managed to get to class on time, her punctuality had always been an issue, even back in high school. When she entered class she took a minute to catch her breath before plopping down in a seat in the back of the classroom. 

The first class of the day was a general world history course, so Akko usually took the time to sleep in this class. However as she settled into her seat and rested her head on the desk, Akko was startled awake by someone bumping the desk upwards and pushing her head backwards with it. She quickly picked her head up so as to see who had the audacity to interrupt her nap and was met with emerald eyes and a mischievous smirk. Of course it had been Amanda. Who else would go out of their way to inconvenience her other than her close friend with a less than ideal reputation.

“Hey sleepyhead, did you miss me?” Amanda asked, her voice sharp with roguery. Though they had only become friends more recently, Akko and Amanda were as close as childhood friends would be. The combination of Amanda’s “overactive imagination” and Akko’s ability to get herself into trouble had been the perfect spark for a friendship between the two, and the pair had often been seen doing things that someone with common sense would not normally do. 

However at that moment, Akko was too tired for any shenanigans. They two talked about their own respective days off, which led to Amanda being amazed that THE Diana Cavendish, her boss and close friend, could have even been so careless to need to be saved from a near-death experience. Akko tried to come to her defense, but once Amanda found something to make fun of, there was no stopping her until she either got bored or found something better to make fun of. 

“You definitely have a crush on her now don’t you?” Amanda accused. Akko flushed pink, unable to form a response before Amanda startled cracking up. 

“Oh wow, you are definitely crushing on her! Good luck with that, she has never liked anyone in her entire life. I don’t know if she is even capable of having a crush!” Amanda announced. 

“Fine! Maybe I do like her a little bit. You have to promise you won’t tell anyone though!” Akko managed to retort. However what she said had been a lie. She liked Diana way more than “a little bit.” She was completely enamored with her. Amanda nodded in agreement and promised to keep her secret because she wants to “see if the cold and professional Diana Cavendish is capable of love.” 

However the conversation was cut short by the sound of Professor Finnelan pointing out the certain lack of attention she noticed from the back of the room. The girls just sighed and returned to world history and how slow time seemed to be going. 

****

After class, Amanda and Akko decided to hang out together a bit before they go their separate ways for classes again. Spread out on the lawn, they sat with their other friends and chatted about their days, the weather, and other small pleasantries. Joining them was Lotte and Sucy, who were also in between classes, and Amanda’s friends Constanze from classes and Jasminka from the bakery. Amanda and Constanze had similar schedules in spite of their differing majors, and sometimes helped out around Jasminka’s bakery when they could. Though Amanda’s appearances behind the bakery’s counter had become more scarce as she started working at Diana’s clinic. 

The group enjoyed some small sandwiches, compliments of Jasminka, and sat in the lawn soaking up the sun. The topic of conversation was how good the sandwiches were, but Akko’s mind was elsewhere. 

As the group discussed bread and meats, Akko’s thoughts drifted from sandwiches to a certain girl with cerulean eyes and tea-green highlights. Although the incident happened days ago, Akko couldn’t help but think about her. Diana Cavendish. She had saved THE Diana Cavendish from getting hit by a truck. Not only had she saved her, but she had been invited to the heiress’ clinic for a check-up free of charge. Akko couldn’t divert her thoughts from Diana, and how beautiful she was. Akko had seen a side of Diana that most people don’t get to meet. In the chaos, Diana had let down her guard and Akko stood witness to the storm behind her eyes. She couldn’t peg the feeling at the time, but in hindsight Akko knew that Diana was special. She felt that Diana was feeling a pain no one could see. No one in their right mind would fail to notice a large truck speeding towards them if they weren’t preoccupied by something important. Diana must be in some kind of pain for her not to notice the danger she was in. 

Akko wanted to know what made her fail to notice the truck, aside from the fact that she was just curious about Diana in general. Sure, she could ask Amanda about her, but then she would have to face endless teasing for the rest of her life and she would never live it down. Diana had piqued Akko’s curiosity. How could a woman as beautiful as she was even exist? Akko thought back to their encounter. She thought back to Diana’s regal and spotless skin. She thought back to her winsomely flowing hair, and the way it framed her exquisite features. She thought back to how elegantly she walked, confident yet barely skimming the ground as if she was floating. 

Akko was deep in thought, so deep that she failed to notice the blush creeping up her face, and that her phone was ringing. “Akko? Akko, are you okay?” Lotte’s voice said as she was pulled out of her thoughts. “Yeah I’m okay sorry I spaced out for a second,” Akko replied, vaguely confused as to why everyone was staring at her. “Your phone is ringing.” Sucy pointed out. Akko quickly realized what was happening and pulled out her phone and walked away from the group to take the call. 

“Why had her so worked up? She was blushing pretty hard.” Sucy mentioned after Akko was out of earshot. The girls all just kind of looked at each other in uncertainty, with the exception of Amanda, who had a smirk on her face and a fire in her eyes. 

Akko answered the phone call when she was certain she wouldn’t be interrupting her friends anymore than she had already. “Hello? Who is this?” She asked, she had seen that the number wasn’t saved in her phone, but it wasn’t the usual telemarketers number so she figured she’d answer it. “

Hey, it’s the guy from the makeup store? I just wanted to know if you’d want to get together sometime,” the voice said on the other end of the line. Akko almost screamed. She had completely forgotten about the makeup store incident with everything that had happened with Diana. She had found the guy from the store attractive, sure, but she was mostly just embarrassed and flustered when they talked. After Sucy forced her phone number into the guy’s hands and dragged her away, Akko scolded her about giving away personal information to strangers and stated that he wasn’t her type anyways. “Hello? Are you still there?” the voice said over the phone. Akko quickly replied with a “Hold on! I’m here! Hold on!” and put the phone’s microphone on mute before hurrying back to the group. 

“Who was it?” Amanda asked upon her return. “It was the guy from the makeup store! He wants to meet up!” Akko exclaimed, pointing a glare towards Sucy. She didn’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings, but she wasn’t really interested either. “Go with him! Go get him tiger!” Sucy declared, her implications made clear in her suggestive tone. “Yeah, he seemed really nice, but if you don’t want to just say ‘no,’” Lotte affirmed. Lotte had always been a big romance buff, and dating Sucy never changed that in spite of their clashing views on romance and love. 

Akko nodded and ran off to hash out the details for the plans. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a date. There was so much she had to do now, like pick out an outfit and shave and figure out how she was going to do her hair, and even worse they had decided to go out on Saturday for brunch which was in two days! There was so much to do and so little time she was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything on top of her school work and part-time job. “I’m not really even interested in him anyways? Why did I do this to myself?” she scolded herself. But it was too late. She made plans to go out on a date with this guy and now she has to follow through with them. 

The girls giggled as they watched Akko run around them, panicking and fighting with herself about her predicament. All except for Amanda, whose hopes of setting up her two friends had been crushed. 

****

After the electronics store incident, Hannah and Barbara had many questions. For example, since when did Diana hit on people? Did Diana know she was hitting on that girl? Was Diana actually even into girls? Questions flooded the girls’ minds as they tried to act normal and enjoy their day off. The “act normal” part did not last very long though. They had gone in various stores after leaving already and had each purchased a notable amount of things individually, with Diana pulling up last in the quantity of things bought. However Hannah and Barbara were finding it hard to ignore what had happened earlier that day. They had not discussed it since it happened, but were determined to bring it up in conversation. Even if it wasn’t exactly natural. 

Lunch passed as the trio ate salads from the local salad shop and chatted about what they had bought and who had bought what and whether or not it was a good purchase. Diana was cleaning up the table they were sitting at, and had gotten up to throw away their trash leaving the pair alone for a moment. “That was super weird earlier in the electronics store,” Barbara stated, “she never hits on people.” Hannah nodded and brought a hand to her chin. “Maybe she didn’t realize that she was hitting on her,” she suggested, “she can be kind of oblivious to that kind of thing.” “Oblivious to what kind of thing?” Diana asked before Barbara could reply. The girls had been acting weird all day, and Diana wasn’t exactly sure as to why. “Nothing! The prices of the things you bought were just VERY high for a casual shopping trip.” Hannah blurted out before either of them could say anything incriminating. “While I agree that I do have expensive tastes, I am more than capable of managing my own finances. However I do appreciate the concern,” Diana replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. The trio brushed off the awkward confrontation and continued with their day. They were used to little fights since they had lived in a dorm together for so long, so the air of awkwardness dispersed quickly after leaving the salad shop. 

The girls were in another clothing boutique when Diana’s new phone rang. Hannah and Barbara were in changing rooms, and Diana had been holding their things. Diana put down a couple of the many bags she was holding and answered the phone. “Diana Cavendish speaking,” she said into the phone. “Oh hey Diana, it’s the girl from the electronics store? I know I just saw you but would you want to get together sometime soon?” the voice said through the phone. Diana turned away from the dressing rooms, and Hannah and Barbara had poked their heads out in curiosity as to who had called. They looked at each other as Diana talked to the unknown person on the other end. As the call ended, Diana turned to see her best friends staring at her in interest. 

“It was the girl from the electronics store. She wanted to meet with me this Saturday for brunch.” Diana said, wincing a bit after being met with high pitched excited squealing from her friends. After finishing up in the changing rooms the girls came out with a barrage of questions. Diana was able to answer each one by one. She clarified that no it was not a date, it was just a friends meeting. The girl had wished to get to know her better, and treat her to brunch in thanks for standing up to the rude couple that had barged into the store. Hannah and Barbara were disappointed but still excited for Diana to make a new friend. It had been a while since Diana did anything remotely resembling a date, but her friends were just happy she was going out again. 

****

Two days passed like a leaf in the wind and Akko suddenly found herself on the floor of her and her friends’ shared apartment, completely stumped as to what she would wear to this brunch date with the makeup store guy. They’d small-talked a bit after finalizing the details of their plans over the phone, but Akko still wasn’t sure just how interested in this guy she had met. Like Lotte had said that evening when he called, he did seem very nice, maybe too nice even. 

However Akko’s mind was elsewhere, it drifted away from the man to a particular girl. A girl with poise and grace, but also storm hidden away within her. A storm Akko had the chance to catch a glimpse of, one that she wanted to learn more about. Diana was far from mundane, but Akko was eager to learn some of her more worldly idiosyncrasies. She had not seen Diana since the incident, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to see her again. The latter prodded at her very being, as if the universe was screaming at her to take action and put herself out there to be with the one she desires so dearly. But however strong the universe may be, the threat of Amanda’s ceaseless teasing was stronger. Akko would rather pine after a girl she only met once forever than have to deal with the taunting she would face if word got out that she had a crush on THE Diana Cavendish. 

Akko managed to divert her thoughts back to her wardrobe conundrum after a moment of aching and the sound of Lotte in the hallway. “Are you almost ready? It’s getting late!” she shouted through the closed door. The answer to her question was a solid ‘no.’ Akko was sitting on the floor, still in her pajamas, surrounded by a sea of crumpled up clothes discarded around her.

With a knock on the door Lotte peeked her head into the room, jaw dropping slightly at the sight of an unprepared Akko. The Japanese girl had always been one to be indecisive when getting ready, but the time for her date came closer and she was far from ready to leave. Lotte pushed the door open further, let herself in and began tiptoeing around the mess and picking up clothes while Akko slumped in defeat. “

Come on, I’ll help you. What were you thinking of wearing today?” Lotte asked in a soft tone, clearly used to helping Akko through tough decisions. 

“I don’t know. I can’t decide between casual and ‘casual but clearly trying a little bit,’” Akko sighed. The guy had said the date would be “chill” and she shouldn’t worry too much about it, but she always liked to make a good impression on people. Especially after disturbing them at their place of work and causing a scene. Lotte gave Akko a warm and understanding smile and began putting together articles of clothing for her to try on. They didn’t have much time, but Lotte was determined to have Akko leave the apartment with confidence that day. 

****

Diana was caught in a similar situation. She was having trouble with deciding between something more professional or something casual to show that she could indeed be “chill,” and have a relaxing brunch with a new friend. Because what she had scheduled for later that morning was a friends meeting. Between friends. Nothing more nothing less. Diana couldn’t disagree with the fact that her new “friend” was very pretty and had been very helpful and kind to her in their first encounter. However she was not in the market for romance and had no time to fool around with love, because she had goals and plans and things to do. Between the clinic and preparing to take over as head of the family, Diana had never thought much about the topic, only researching it in hopes of connecting with her peers. So romance was out of the question, and what she had planned for the day was simply two friends getting together platonically. Not a date with a pretty girl. She was also definitely not thinking about whether or not what she decided to wear was too formal for her “friend” date. 

Diana went back and forth with herself for a couple more minutes on the formality of her outfit before eventually settling to tone it down just a little bit and go on her way. After taking off one layer of tops, she took one more glance in her mirror before leaving to make any minor changes, grabbed her keys and left. 

She was sure to leave her headphones this time, and stay alert for any danger and oncoming traffic. She was not about to make the same mistake twice. Especially since that mistake almost took her life if it wasn’t for a certain Japanese girl with crimson eyes and beautiful flowing hazel hair who she definitely hadn’t been thinking about since their first meeting. Diana was going out with a friend to a friend meeting today, and she was determined to give her friend her complete attention and have a pleasant morning. 

As Diana approached the cafe at which the friend meeting was scheduled to occur, she noticed that she had gotten there first. It was still fairly early in the morning, so the cafe was empty with the exception of a few employees and people coming in and out for take-out orders. Diana shrugged off the fact and sat down at a table in the corner near the front door, taking off her sport coat and placing it on the back of the chair. She always had been punctual to the point of showing up fifteen, even thirty minutes early to plans. However she didn’t order anything yet because it would be rude to eat before her friend even got there, so she sat and waited for her company to arrive. 

Diana ran through topics of conversation in her head. While was all too familiar with making professional small talk with any business partners or people of importance in her experiences with the Cavendish company, the difference between professional small talk and friendly small talk was vast and unforgiving. She didn’t want to come off as uninterested by only treading lightly, asking small questions about any family or business endeavors without diving too deep into a subject for too long, but she also didn’t want to over-share and come off too strongly out of the gate. 

Debating with herself passed the time quicker than she expected and the fact was only brought to her attention by a cafe worker at her table asking if she was ready to order yet. Diana pulled out her phone and saw the time, realizing that her friend was half an hour late and that she most likely just got stood up. She ordered a cup of tea and went back to her thoughts. How could she have gotten stood up? Did she get the date or time wrong? What did she do wron—her thought was cut off by the sound of the doors thrown open and panting at the edge of her table. Diana looked up to see the cause of the commotion and in a moment of clarity was met with crimson eyes and hazel hair. 

****

Akko was running. Again. Due to her set back from that morning’s outfit crisis, she had lost track of time and was promptly late to her date with the makeup store guy. She was sure she had left him waiting around for her, and the thought of leaving a bad impression on him once again made her slightly sick to stomach. 

After some careful deliberation and help from Lotte, Akko settled on wearing something more casual than she had first planned to. Her red flannel blew behind her as she booked it down the street, and her breathing became labored as she sped up at the thought of making the guy think she stood him up. She was thankful to Lotte for convincing her to wear sneakers instead of boots and shorts instead of a sundress, since she would have to run in order to make it in time for the meeting. 

Ducking and weaving through the crowds, Akko’s heart pounded and thumped in her chest as she made her way to the cafe they had agreed on. It was nearing late morning when she finally made it to the cafe, almost half an hour after they had agreed upon, and Akko was determined to make things right with the nice guy who was generous enough to invite her out on a date. 

She threw open the doors of the cafe, stumbled in, and doubled over putting her hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath. She looked around to see a mostly empty cafe, with only a few patrons picking up coffee and the regular employees working the morning shift, all staring at her in surprise as she tried to compose herself. She picked herself and started trying to dust herself off and straighten anything that was put out of place in her adventure to make it on time when she scanned the room one more time to see that the guy she planned to meet wasn’t there. 

Akko let out a sigh and slumped as she came to the conclusion that the guy had left, and that she was too late. She would have to call him later to apologize again, and hopefully find a way to make it up to him. 

****

Akko was in the middle of thinking of what to order since she had to make it up to the shop workers for disturbing the peace when she heard a voice beside her. “Wow, you again? Always in quite the rush I see.” it said as Akko turned to see who it belonged to. Crimson eyes met cerulean as Akko realized whose morning she had just interrupted. Heat creeped up her face as Akko tried to process what was happening and how to respond. Standing up all the way and finishing up any rearranging she had to do, Akko brought a hand behind her neck and turned her face away from her former acquaintance. 

“Oh h-hey Diana! I didn’t see you there. Do you come here a lot?” Akko managed to spit out before pausing and turning to face her again. Akko watched as the eyes she yearned for met hers, but the storm behind them could not be seen. In place of the storm Akko saw something else. A subdued void, calm and cool. As if Diana was feeling something different from their first meeting, something somber and even sad, but Akko was too focused on trying to talk to think too deeply about it. 

“I do not come here often, this is my first time here actually. Do you frequent here?” Diana asked as she looked back up at her in curiosity. Akko took a deep breath and shook her head, she’d better get to placing her order and getting out of these shop workers’ hair before she could cause any more trouble for them, not to mention she was probably ruining Diana’s morning. 

“No, I was actually supposed to meet someone here. You may have seen him. Tall, brown hair, green eyes, looks too nice to be true? We were supposed to have brunch together,” Akko expressed, she felt a strong pull in her heart at the fact that she had stood him up. However her disappointment in herself was short-winded. 

“No, I have been here almost an hour now and I have not seen anyone that meets that description. What time were you supposed to meet?” Diana replied, it was strange to think that she had not seen anyone like that because who would deceive someone as beautiful as the girl who stood before her? Akko scratched her head. Was she the one being stood up here? Did he really not show? Akko let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in with a bit of disappointment and relief. She wanted to make a good impression, but was honestly not all that interested in getting romantically involved with him. 

“Half an hour ago, but I guess I just got stood up,” Akko declared with a small smile on her face, somewhat relieved about her situation. Diana stared back at her in surprise. That was the same time her friend meeting was scheduled. “How odd, an acquaintance of mine was supposed to meet me here at the same time.” Diana offered, “Since we both seem to be out of company for the time being, would you like to have brunch with each other instead? I would love to know your name since we seem to keep running into each other.” Akko’s face had turned from a soft pink to a flaming hot red. This went unnoticed by the English heiress, but was obvious to the bystanders watching with intent as the scene unfolded.

“Must be another pair from Andrew, good for them,” the barista behind the bar thought to himself with a smile. There had been a recent rise in these types of situations in his cafe lately, which he blamed on his friend Andrew, who worked in a cosmetics store. The scenes all held similar points, two people are stood up at the same time and same place, by a couple conspiring to set people up unbeknownst to them. “That guy has some sick hobbies,” the barista thought. Messing with people's feelings was surely immoral, but he couldn’t help but smile as people are brought together by their mutual empathy towards the other. He had only noticed the pattern the fifth or sixth time it happened, and when it was discussed between the patrons who had stood them up. Of course it was his meddling friend and his girlfriend sending people to his cafe, how else would he have witnessed the same situation so many times? However the barista’s train of thought was interrupted by one of the victims of his friend’s actions. 

“Hi, can I get a chai tea latte, extra espresso shot with a pump of chocolate syrup?” Akko asked, a bit concerned for the barista who had spaced out. “A-ah yes! Coming right up,” he exclaimed before getting to work. Akko turned to go back to the table, sweating a bit at the thought of having brunch with Diana.

“So, what is your name? I have yet to learn it since our last meeting,” Diana stated, her tone smooth but strong with confidence. Akko’s mind started racing a million miles a minute. How could she have forgotten to tell Diana her name? She mentally smacked herself upside the head before replying “Atsuko Kagari. But you can call me Akko! I can’t believe I haven’t told you my name yet, sorry…” Diana gave a nod and a smile in response. It was understandable that she had yet to disclose her name to her since their last encounter had gone kind of fast. 

“That is alright. There is no need to feel sorry. I just wish we could have gotten together sooner, Akko,” Diana added, pushing a strand of stray hair behind her ear. Akko’s jaw would have dropped to the floor if she hadn’t caught herself. The sound of Diana saying her name was enough to add five years to her life span, letting alone watching her do something as cute as push a hair out of her perfectly framed face. 

The barista brought her coffee to the table, and Akko was more than eager to have something to distract her enough to keep her from doing anything stupid. The pair chatted about themselves, as well as how crazy the past week had been for them each. Diana learned a lot more than she had expected about Akko, like that she idolized Chariot, a musician who disappeared ten years prior, and that she was pursuing her dreams to become a musician who spreads joy through getting a degree to become a music teacher. Akko learned about Diana, but not nearly as much as she wanted. Very simple things such as Diana’s occupation as a doctor, and that she does run her own clinic, as well as that she is the heiress to the Cavendish company. All of these were definitely interesting, but not really what Akko had in mind when she thought about what she wanted to know about Diana. 

As the girls each finished up their respective breakfasts, they could feel the encounter coming to a close. Akko wasn’t ready to leave Diana alone again, she had too many questions for her, and Diana felt the same. Neither wanted to return to the way they were before, but despite their chemistry they had to go their separate ways. 

“Here, my phone number in case you would want to get together again sometime!” Akko exclaimed as she got up from her seat and handed Diana a scrap of napkin with a phone number written on it. They had been sitting at the table for another hour after receiving Akko’s coffee, so she had to stretch her legs a bit before saying her goodbyes. As Akko bent forward and backwards and twisted back and forth, Diana gladly took the scrap and began putting the number into her phone, then turning her phone out to Akko to fill in any information she couldn’t fill in herself. Much to her surprise, Akko held up the phone with an outstretched hand and took a photo. Handing Diana back her phone, Akko offered her own for Diana to fill out a contact profile as well. Much to her dismay, Diana did not take a photo for the contact profile. After cleaning up the table, the pair moved outside the cafe. 

“I had a really great time, we should totally get together again soon,” Akko remarked, she was a bit sad to have to leave Diana again, but her hopes for another date burned brighter than ever before. “Yes this was nice. I hope to see you again soon,” Diana stated with a nod and a smile. Diana was the first to turn down the street and begin walking, leaving a smitten Akko behind her staring as she strode away before turning down the other end of the street herself. Unbeknownst to Akko, Diana paused before turning the corner, sparing a glance as Akko skipped down the street, occasionally stopping to do a fist pump and trying not to scream too loudly. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was that! I hope you enjoyed this short story. Again, please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments. I would love to see what people have to say and hopefully highlight some things I need to work on with my writing. I'm not sure if I will be writing again soon, if ever, but this was a wonderful experiment and I had a lot of fun!


End file.
